The Art Ark

Posted: December 13, 2024 | Author: David | Filed under: Child Centered Activities, Chronicles of a First Time Parent, Portfolio - David's work, What is an Art Farm | Tags: animals, arctic, climate-change, consciousness, Friends School of Portland, poetry, polar bears, spirituality | 1 Comment

Previously I have told the story of the Sea Monsters, which exhibit came to its end. The monsters were put up for adoption, and then a Friend, a lifelong artist who volunteered for decades in inner city schools, exclaimed, “You need to save the Sea Monsters!!!” She donated funds to cover the costs, which became the catalyst and the adoptions have begun. We delivered Peter the Polar Bear on Wednesday to a full school assembly at the Friends School of Portland.

Historians say Cleopatra’s arrival at the port city of Tarsus to meet Mark Antony, 41 BC, was the most splendid entrance in history. Plutarch described it as “Aphrodite had come to make merry with Dionysus for the good of Asia.” William Shakespeare used a translation of Plutarch to write his tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Hollywood, 1963, created its blockbuster “Cleopatra,” forever casting Elizabeth Taylor in everyman’s memories.  But in the eyes of a Pre-K cherub at the Friends School, the arrival of Peter the Polar Bear must have been every bit as grand. I share here the text of our presentation.

DAVID:  I am pleased to introduce Peter the Polar Bear, one of seven Sea Monsters from the Carousel Cosmos, a public art exhibit that had been on display on Portland’s Western Promenade. The exhibit came to an end, and the monsters are now being adopted all around the state.  Peter has come to live in the Pre-K room.  

Dear Pre-K children, I want you to know that Peter is sturdy and stout.  He is a bench. 

• You can sit on his back and eat a snack
• You could lie down and take a nap
• If your teacher allowed, you could do a handstand on his head
• Or on your hands and knees, crawl and say “thank you and please…” 
• listen carefully, perhaps he will reply…
• Peter is a gentle old Bear.

DAVID: Chris Miller is the polymath maker, the creator of the Carousel Cosmos.  He will give a short presentation.  But first, everyone please take out your bumblebee thinking caps…tie them on tightly…we will cross pollinate ideas, and with the help of the 8th grade students we will tell a story about circles and sharing.  

How does a carousel turn?  

STUDENTS: IN A CIRCLE

DAVID: How do planets in outer space move?  

STUDENTS: IN A CIRCLE

DAVID: When Quakers gather to meet, how do we sit?  

STUDENTS:  IN A CIRCLE

DAVID:  Peter is made of the wood of ash trees, locally grown.  Ash trees grow in the woods here at the Friends School property.  The forest teaches us of the circle of life:

STUDENT #1: “Biodiversity” teaches us that the greater the number of species, the more healthy is the ecosystem.  Our property is on the border between Eastern Deciduous Forest to the south and Boreal Forest to the north; White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks are dominant on our property’s southern edge, while Hemlocks, Pine, Oak, and Maples surround the building.  

STUDENT #2: American Chestnuts grow in our woods. Although devastated by a blight and almost completely wiped out in America, our Chestnut trees likely are sprouting from the roots of ancient trees that predate the trees currently growing on the land. 

STUDENT #3: The white ash and black ash trees grow in the wetland corner of the School property. The emerald ash borer, a jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia is an invasive insect that feeds on the ash species, decimating these trees.  We continue to study this problem.  

STUDENT #4: The mycellium network is spread throughout the entire forest, and allows the trees to communicate to each other.  Mycelium breaks down organic matter to feed the fungi, plants, and other organisms and connects plants to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon, and other minerals.  The strong trees share enzymes with the weaker trees, making the forest healthier.  

STUDENT #5: In the circle of life, we can say

• The greater the diversity the healthier the community
• The strong help the weak
• And everyone prospers
• Chris Miller will now speak about more circles and sharing

Chris Miller then stood and spoke about circles and Polar Bears, shared images of his Sea Monsters, how they were designed, and stories of their past. He explained that Polar Bears may have lived where Maine is, but long long ago. A child spoke up and explained pangaea. Chris answered all the children’s questions. The room was silent, in awe as he spoke:

“Gather round. We are all made of the same atoms that the stars are made of too. We are parts of the universe that observe the universe. We are all living, sentient and curious together, here of all places and now of all times. What are the odds? How does it make you feel?

“This carousel is inspired by kindness, adventure, outer space, bedtime stories, dinosaurs and ice cream. It’s inspired by the Western Promenade’s endless views, spectacular sunsets and contemplative atmosphere. It spins the way that the earth spins when the sun sets, in a place where trolleys used to stop, in a small picturesque city with a school community that speaks more than sixty different languages.”

Chris shared images of circles from around the world, over hundreds of years, many people gathered together…

The Pre-K children unveiled a banner they had made:

…and then lead Peter out of the room, down the hall to his new home:

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